


Just Faerghus Things

by Corvidrue



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cultural Differences, Foursome - M/M/M/M, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Multi, Submissive Dimitri, Teacher-Student Relationship, Voyeurism, a bit more 3.5some technically, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:41:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24758740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corvidrue/pseuds/Corvidrue
Summary: Byleth learns that Faerghus's coming of age traditions are rather more intimate than he expected, and Sylvain is thrilled to use this as an excuse to get Dimitri some much needed physical affection.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Sylvain Jose Gautier/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 13
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Skip ahead if you just want hot buff boy fun times with no context. I don't judge.

"Hey! We all remember that it's His Highness's birthday tomorrow, right?" There was a barely-concealed tone of glee in Sylvain's voice that somehow made Byleth feel more concerned than anything else.

"Becoming a man at the Officer's Academy, huh?" he continued jovially. "It's absolutely storybook. I'm jealous."

The emotions Byleth saw around the table could not very well be called jealousy. Byleth had instated a policy of his Blue Lions all lunching with him on class days, and though it had certainly increased their camaraderie overall the occasional rift of tension would still rise. Judging from Felix's utterly sour expression, another crack was well on its way.

"Don't be  _ disgusting _ ," the swordsman spat. "I'm eating."

"Felix, don't." Though Byleth's stock response was immediate and automatic, Felix's comment was, after he had time to process it, unusual. Glancing around the table, in fact, many expressions seemed unbefitting of a simple birthday reminder. Half the table looked as if they'd been struck with fever, with Ashe and Annette's faces red as Sylvain's hair and a notable blush on even Dedue's severe features. Sylvain and Mercedes' dazzling glee was only just barely counterbalanced by Felix's apparent want for murder. Dimitri and Ingrid's blank faces offered no further clues, and Byleth couldn't help but cringe at the thought of pulling the deal with  _ another goddamn Faerghus thing _ out of his often infuriatingly insular students.

"Do Faerghans do something special for royal birthdays?" the professor ventured.

"Not just royals," Sylvain smirked, "but just for the eighteenth one. There's usually a welcome party."

Dimitri remained intently focused on his potatoes.

Byleth sighed. "All I know is that at eighteen in this country you can have sex, own land, and brew wine. I have no doubt which you've chosen to focus your attention on, Sylvain, but as far as I'm concerned, none are relevant to your experience here of learning command and war."

"Actually-" the voice that chimed up, surprisingly, belonged to Ashe. He paused upon noticing how quickly all surrounding eyes had focused on him, and cleared his throat. "Actually, it's uh, it's fairly relevant, Professor." 

"How so?"

"Wow, you've never… I, uh, forget, sometimes, that you're not from Faerghus, Professor. Battle Bonding is an ancient knightly tradition. It's a noble act, you see, to freely share so much of yourself with your comrades. And your king."

The plate beneath Dimitri's fork shattered.

"It's- the Goddess blesses it, you know!" Ashe stammered, "I know people from other regions can be less… tolerant… but it's part of what makes the bonds between Faerghus knights so strong. It's important, Professor."

Byleth had an inkling where this conversation was going from the get-go, but was nonetheless caught slightly off guard by the explicit turn into the subject of- "Casual sex?"

It was Ingrid- normally so uptight- who stepped up to clarify. "It's not  _ casual sex _ , Professor. It's Battle Bonding. Ashe is right- it makes us better knights to share such experiences. Obviously it's not something we begin until we're of age, and obviously it doesn't excuse the purposeless" she turned to Sylvain, " _ general carousing  _ that some choose to take to instead-"

"Hey, any day the town could be raided and those milkmaids would rise up as our brethren in arms-"

" _ But  _ getting to share such intimacy with those you fight alongside is something any warrior would be proud to do."

On her other side, Felix spat. "Warriors are proud to die, too. Doesn't make it worthwhile."

"I may not be from this country," countered Dedue, "but I at least respect its traditions, even those I have no desire to partake in. His Highness and I have discussed the matter."

"Dedue!"

Byleth had seen quite a wide variety of emotions cross Dimitri's face over the past few months, in spite of his many layers of assumed control. Flustered like this, however… that was a new one. And really, it was quite endearing. Achingly so.

Mercedes's soft voice was, as usual, an almost instant deescalator. "You needn't be so bashful, Your Highness. The Goddess would love for you to be with all the dear ones you can on your birthday, as would we."

"Speak for yourself," Felix grunted.

Mercedes remained unperturbed. "I'd happily offer my own company if I did not prefer to lie only with women. Please know it doesn't mean I care for you any less."

Byleth had learned an unprecedentedly large amount in the past few minutes. By all rules of monastery decorum he should be shutting down this line of conversation, or at the very least excusing himself from it. And yet, were he to leave, he may never learn what exciting new colors Dimitri's blush could turn. 

"So," began Sylvain, swinging an arm around the prince's shoulders, "would you be willing to let an old friend prove his loyalty tomorrow, Your Highness?"

Before Dimitri could stammer a response, the clatter of a chair hitting the paved ground made the whole table flinch as Felix stormed off. 

"He- he'll come around, eventually," Annette assuaged. 

"Oh, you know he will," chuckled Sylvain. "Well? Your Highness?"

Byleth noted Dimitri biting his lip, just slightly. He honestly had never thought of the prince's typical guardedness extending into matters more personal and physical, but then again, Byleth had never really considered his student in such a manner at all. Looking too closely at his pretty pink lips, however, Byleth was finding it difficult not to wonder what Dimitri would look like with his guard fully lowered. Having only seen the princely gloss, sometimes, briefly, a glance of battlefield darkness… what would there be to see of the young prince, beneath his layers?

Dimitri let his posture slightly relax. Slightly, maybe, yet more than Byleth had ever seen on him. "Sylvain," he sighed, noticeably regaining his composure. "I… I would greatly appreciate you sharing this with me. Thank you."

"With all due respect, Your Highness, I've taken arrows for you. Especially compared with that, let's not pretend my company in bed is an exclusive honor." The redheaded man winked. "Though I will say… with Mercedes and Dedue opting out and everyone else having to wait awhile longer… isn't a party of two a little sad for a birthday?"

When Byleth found his eyes locking with Sylvain's, he suddenly realized what the endgame of this conversation had been all along. Goddess, it shouldn't have been such a surprise. Despite Sylvain's clever baiting, though, he knew he could only give one reasonable answer. No real option here. But  _ Goddess  _ if only he-

Dimitri interrupted Byleth's racing thoughts. "Professor, any one of us would welcome you as a friend of Faerghus, as well as a friend of ours. You share in battle with us, and with everything else, really. I would not be at all opposed to you sharing this with us as well."

There was a reasonable answer, and an unreasonable answer. Regardless of cultural norms, Seteth would surely have Byleth's head if-

"And actually, I myself- I would really like it, Professor." The prince's cheeks were once more fully flushed. "Please join us."

There was only one answer, after all. 

Fuck it. "If you'd have me, I would be honored." The soft clapping sounds to his left could have come from Mercedes or Annette, but Byleth wouldn't have looked away from Dimitri's soft smile for anything.

"It's a date, then!" sang Sylvain, standing and grinning to congratulate a job well done. "Y'know, Dedue, you wouldn't have to  _ actively  _ participate if you didn't want to. I'm sure just you being there would mean a lot to His Highness," He gave Dimitri's hair a very un-royal tousle. "Right?"

Byleth had honestly expected that if anything of a close personal nature were occurring between his Lions, it would have been between the prince and his loyal retainer. He had scarcely seen Dedue and Dimitri outside each others' presence since entering the monastery. Honestly, Dedue's involvement would be welcome for the sheer familiarity, if nothing else. As Byleth watched Dimitri turn to his friend, however, the prince's pleading face made him reconsider. That split-second of warmth and sweetness would melt all the snow in Fhirdiad, let alone a saner man's resolve. Byleth would  _ drag  _ that boy into Dimitri's room if need be.

"If His Highness wishes it, I would gladly be present." This time, at least, such force would be avoided. "Though I may leave Faerghus's traditions to its citizens."

Sylvain was beaming even brighter than Dimitri. "Perfect. I'm  _ so _ glad we could all come together for this~" As if on cue, the clock tower began to chime the end of the lunch hour. "Goddess, I better go make sure Felix didn't kill anything important." 

As Sylvain ran off toward the training grounds, the other Lions began to gather their belongings. Dedue carried Dimitri's broken plate back to the kitchen, likely preventing some additional carnage in the process. Byleth found himself sitting just a little while longer, watching the prince pull his gauntlets back on. Was this… really going to happen? Did they all really think this was normal? How would this work? 

How would he make it through teaching multiple rounds of classes until tomorrow night?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got busy, then I wrote another chapter I didn't plan that somehow still wasn't yet porn. My sincerest apologies.

The day had been almost shockingly uneventful. Byleth found himself forced to acknowledge how truly little he knew about the culture of his own students and the land where he now resided. After all, nothing could have more effectively proved the normalization of Faerghan intimacy than even Felix barely reacting to Sylvain greeting their young prince with both a "happy birthday" and a peck on the lips at the training grounds. Honestly, the Lions overall seemed far more interested by the celebratory sweets Mercedes had made for their luncheon, offered in lieu of a more personal gift later that evening (though it was very sweet, Byleth noticed, how much effort she had put into the satisfying texture of crunchy meringue and dizzyingly strong aromas. He hadn't ever seen Dimitri so enticed at mealtime.) 

The day had proceeded so normally, in fact, that Byleth found himself tempted to invite Dimitri to the same sort of customary birthday teatime he had held with so many other students. Tempting indeed, yet still… somewhat wrong. The young prince's behavior had not changed, that was certain, but Byleth found himself realizing that his own perception had been radically altered. A switch had been flipped. As much as he was determined to avoid showing visible favoritism, Byleth had recognized he was growing an extreme bias towards Dimitri within a few short days at the Academy. He'd thought the boy's earnestness to be unintentionally charming, his politeness sweet, his face pretty to look at. His secrets… intriguing, yet far from something Byleth wanted to touch, just yet. But all this admiration, all this immediate fondness, had remained entirely platonic, even protective, for months now. 

He supposed, in a way, that he needed permission. Permission to notice that the prince would flush ever so slightly when Byleth praised him for a correct answer, or leaned into his touch a little more than needed while having his stance corrected in the training grounds. Even at previous tea parties, seeing him visibly loosen with nothing but conversation and chamomile, wearing a warm expression that was for once masking nothing… No, Dimitri hadn't changed overnight. This was all always there. It was almost embarrassing, Byleth thought, that he had needed such a strong push to notice. Sitting through a proper tea time alone with the prince with nothing to discuss but their plans for tonight would certainly have brought even more revelations he was utterly unprepared for.

There was a sharp, quiet knock on the door. Limited people who that could be. "It's not locked," called Byleth.

Sylvain was the one who opened the door, dressed in only his slacks and undershirt while his jacket was wrapped around something cradled in the crook of his arm. "Hey Professor," he greeted, the same sunny tone Byleth had grown so used to hearing when things were going Sylvain's way, "wanted to check in before we got going."

"Check in?"

The wooden door closed, and Byleth watched Sylvain's posture subtly shift. "I'm glad you're doing this. I know Dimitri would never have asked you on his own, I know this is weird, but I'm glad you're willing." He leaned against the wall beside Byleth's desk. "I just want to talk a bit first."

New information can make or break a battle plan. "Go on."

"I understand that emotionally… you have some challenges, Teach. Even without us dragging all our mess into it. And I know that's a lot of mess," he sighed. "I think… you're in a very good position to help fix that mess, though. Or help it."

"I'm always here to help you."

Sylvain chuckled. "It's nice to help yourself too a bit, y'know. I know you favor Dimitri. Don't take that the wrong way- I'm not accusing you or anything. Most all of us favor him, really. But he goes quite a bit beyond favoring you… I don't think you've noticed that, correct me if I'm wrong."

In hindsight, Byleth was decently ashamed that such a simple analysis had evaded him for so long. "Not until today, I'll admit."

"I figured. No offense." Sylvain unwrapped the bottle of mead his jacket had been concealing, popped the cork, and took a swig. "I think he really loves you, you know. The same way he loves Dedue, or at least similar. Not the way he loves me, but that's fine. I don't think I can, or actually really want, to be that to him. Drink?"

Byleth took the proferred bottle and considered decanting it into a nearby glass, but decided on a hearty swig instead. Swapping spit with Sylvain really shouldn't be a concern, at this point. "Thanks."

"My pleasure."

Byleth waited for his student to continue, but he looked lost in thought. "What are you getting at, Sylvain?"

"If I can be blunt… I want to know if you love him back. It's hard to read you, Professor. I'm sure you've been told that." Sylvain pulled back the mead bottle. "Obviously, you don't need to love someone back like that to care for them, or have sex with them. I wanted you here tonight regardless because I know it's what he wanted. But if you do love him… that may change a few things. Not just tonight, but going forward. I'm fine with it either way, but I want to know what I'm dealing with, here."

Two days previously, giving an answer would have been far easier. Also, perhaps, a different answer entirely. As it stood…

"...I don't know."

Sylvain raised an eyebrow. "Don't know?"

"I…" Byleth took a moment to gather his thoughts. "I had not considered it, honestly. I certainly have feelings, regarding him. I'm not certain of the point where fondness turns to love. Or of care to… desire, I suppose. But I would never do anything that would hurt him. You know that."

"I wouldn't let you."

After some seconds of silence, the two of them took another few drinks.

"Sylvain, do you love him?"

Another chuckle, this time with a slight breathy echo to it. "I don't know either. Isn't that ironic?"

"Maybe. I think that's fine, though."

"Don't really know about you, either." Sylvain stepped away from the wall and swung himself to sit atop Byleth's desk. "I think that's fine for now, too," he murmured, leaning in close towards the other man. "Or at least fine for tonight. Do you mind?"

Byleth parted his lips in response, and soon could taste the same honey from the bottle mingling with Sylvain's warm breath in his mouth. It wasn't electric, as their lips explored, but it was comforting and sweet. The care and closeness was not unlike that of a healing touch (wetter, maybe.) 

It seemed as if there were some value to this particular old Faerghan custom.

Neither man yet dared to slide his tongue through what little barrier remained between them, and after a few more moments of intimacy, they parted.

"An appetizer," teased Sylvain, winking and sunny all over once more.

"To see if the restaurant's worth dining at?"

"To build anticipation for the meal." He leaned forward to give Byleth another soft peck on the lips. "Shall we finish the wine before heading over? I spotted Dedue palming some choice herbs from the greenhouse earlier, so I suspect our little prince is busy loosening up as well."

If he were to be completely honest, thinking of Dimitri eagerly anticipating them a few short hallways away just made Byleth more excited close that distance. That said, his limited previous experience with these matters had taught him he always enjoyed himself more with a slight buzz coursing through his system. The two men took turns polishing off the rest of the bottle and, making sure their wits were still about them, ventured quietly toward the student dorms and their very anticipated birthday party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT TIME: Actually porn, I swear.


End file.
